Cauliflower Soup

The very first cauliflower soup I ever made was Crème de la GrandeTante from Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking. A beautiful concoction which includes egg yolks and is far too rich for a basic lunch. This is a simpler version, although you can create a creamier soup by adding milk, cream or cheese. For a luxury touch add a swirl of hazelnut oil and a sprinkling of roasted chopped hazelnuts before serving.

medium onion, roughly chopped

2 small cloves garlic

25g butter

100 -150g smoked bacon cut into short strips

2 medium cauliflowers cut into florets (fresh or frozen)

1000ml chicken or vegetable stock

2 bay leaves

Melt the butter, add the onions and cook until translucent (10-15 minutes)

Add the bacon and the garlic and cook until the bacon fat is golden and the onions are soft

Add the cauliflower, stock and bay leaves and bring to the boil

Cover the pan and simmer until the cauliflower is soft

Remove the bay leaves, check the seasoning

Put the soup in a liquidiser and blend until smooth

Return to the pan, check the seasoning, gently reheat and serve

You can add milk to make a creamier version (about 100ml) and you may need to add more stock or water if the soup is too thick. You can omit the bacon and reduce the stock to 850ml and after puréeing the cauliflower add 100g Gruyere cheese, 150ml crème fraîche and a teaspoon of grain mustard and reheat gently.

Cauliflower has such a beautiful delicate flavour but it needs gentle handing. Like so many vegetables it’s reputation has suffered from over-cooking by generations of English housewives (especially my Mum).

Agreed. My mum (rest her soul) used to boil it to smithereens. A gloopy cheese sauce got added if we were lucky. It took me until my adult years to start experimenting with stir frying it, spicing it and making it into soups. This looks lovely